Hey There Gabriella
by awillowdeeplyscarred
Summary: Troy works at the World Trade Center. Right before it gets bombed, he sends a seranading video to Gabriella and then she goes into labor. What will happen? The story is way better than the summery. Please R&R. The rating is in between K and T. Troyella.
1. Chapter 1: The Video

**Author's Note: **Please review! I'll have to change some of the lyrics to fit the premises.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything except the idea to write this.

**Hey There Gabriella**

** Chapter 1: Survivors **

**By musiclover94**

"Good morning beautiful!" Troy said as he took the steps two at a time, clutching his briefcase. Gabriella was in the kitchen making oatmeal and smiled at Troy.

"Morning!" she said cheerily, but winced slightly.

"What's the matter?" Troy asked, genuine worry in his blue-gray eyes.

"Ah, it's just the baby kicking, nothing to fret about," she said, smiling weakly.

"What day is it?" Troy asked, still sounding a bit worried.

"The 11th," she said, glancing at the front page of the New York Times.

"I've got a meeting in half an hour!" Troy said, looking at his watch. "Love you Brie! See you later."

"Why do you have to live so far away?" Gabriella pouted.

"The jobs downtown pay a lot more. It's really not that far," he said.

"Love you! See you later," she said, giving him a kiss.

Troy walked out the door. Gabriella sighed and went to her computer. She worked at home doing computer science and taking college online at the same time. She opened the file she had started yesterday and set to work.

But, of course, Gabriella Bolton couldn't stay focused for long. In an hour and a half's time, she was now curled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn on her bump and watching _One Life to Live_.

"Don't do that!" Gabriella said exasperatedly to the screen.

"_We interrupt this broadcast to bring you breaking news,_" an ABC News anchorman said gravely from the screen. Gabriella rolled her eyes. _Gas prices probably went up again…_

But it was nothing of the sort.

"al-Qaeda. A Middle-East terrorist group, crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C early this morning," the reporter said.

"_Oh my god, that's where Troy works,_" Gabriella panicked. She instantly dialed her best friend, Sharpay's number. She held the receiver to her ear with a shaking hand.

"_The phone lines are currently out of service. For further details, press…_" the telephone operator said robotically.

Gabriella turned to her computer and signed into her e-mail with fumbling fingers. After she sent an e-mail to Sharpay, she turned again to the newscast.

"-_All the victims will be kept at Trinity Hospital…_" the anchor continued.

Gabriella instinctively grabbed her keys and flung open the door. She started the ignition and clumsily made her way out of the driveway. A hot lump had started to form in her throat, but she tried her best to pull it back.

"Is Troy Bolton here?" Gabriella asked frantically, immediately upon stepping into the Trinity Hospital waiting room.

"And who are you?" the receptionist asked.

"I'm Gabriella Bolton, his wife," she said tiredly.

The nurse looked down the long list she had. "Miss, he's not here," she said simply.

Gabriella eyes bulged and the lump in her throat threatened to burst. "What do you mean, 'he's not here'?" she said, even more panicked.

"Only survivors of the attack were admitted, Ms. Bolton," the lady said.

Gabriella's heart was beating so fast she was sure it was going to burst. She turned a pale white and her skin turned cold and clammy. The lump burst and she felt hot tears spilling down her face. Without another word, she ran as fast as she could out the door.

_He is not dead; he can't be, not now…_ Gabriella thought to herself, fatter tears pouring down her face and obstructing her vision, making her narrowly miss a light pole.

She turned into her driveway and parked the car, tears still pouring nonstop down her face. She wiped them off with a vibrating hand.

She went to her PC and tried to continue her work, but couldn't concentrate well.

'You have 1 new e-mail!'

appeared on her screen. She faintly remembered seeing the message earlier, but was in too much shock to click on it. But now she did.

Gabi-

How's it going? I was looking through my old videos and saw this and thought you and the little one ;) might like it.

I will love you forever!

Troy

Gabriella clicked on the video attachment. A slightly fuzzy video came up. Troy was sitting on a chair with an acoustic guitar on his lap and smiling.

"Gabriella, my eternal love, this is for you," he said and began to play.

_Hey there Gabriella, what's it like in New York City_

_I'm a couple miles away, but girl tonight you look so pretty, yes you do_

_Times Square can't shine as bright as you; I swear it's true_

_Hey there Gabriella, don't you worry about the distance_

_I'm right there if you get lonely, give this song another listen_

_Close your eyes, listen to my voice it's my disguise_

_I'm by your side_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

What you do to me

_Hey there Gabriella, I know times are getting hard_

_But just believe me girl; someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar_

_We'll have it good; we'll have the life we knew we would_

_My word is good_

_Hey there Gabriella, I've got so much left to say_

_If every simple song I wrote to you would take your breath away_

_I'd write it all_

_Even more in love with me you'd fall, we'd have it all_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

_A couple miles seems pretty far_

_But they've got bikes and trains and cars_

_I'd walk to you if I had no other way_

_Our friends would all make fun of us_

_And we'll just laugh along because we know that none of them have felt this way_

_Gabriella I can promise you_

_That by the time that we get through_

_The world will never ever be the same_

_And you're to blame_

_Hey there Gabriella_

_You be good and don't you miss me_

_Two more years and you'll be done with school_

_And I'll be making history like I do_

_You'll know it's all because of you_

_We can do whatever we want to_

_Hey there Gabriella here's to you_

_This one's for you_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

_Oh, it's what you do to me_

What you do to me

"I love you Gabriella!" he said. The video turned black.

Gabriella's keyboard was drenched with tears by now. What the nurse had said hadn't made such a string impact on her as this had. This was Troy's last message to Gabriella. _He's dead and he's not coming back… _Gabriella was shaking with grief at this point and hot, fat tears were cascading down her cheeks. Suddenly, she felt something wet drop near her abdomen and such a strong kick that she nearly fell off the chair. She reached for the phone and dialed Sharpay, her emergency midwife. Luckily, the phone was working.

"Hello?" Sharpay said shakily into the phone.

"Sharpay, I'm going into labor," she breathed in between sharp contractions.

**Author's Note: **Please review! Sorry if there was a lot of song. This is the first time I've written a story like this, so bear with me.


	2. Chapter 2: Stephen Michael Bolton

**Author's Note: **I'm back. This will probably be the last chapter, but you never know with me! Please review.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything except the idea.

**Hey There Gabriella**

**Chapter 2: Stephen Michael Bolton**

**By musiclover94**

_He's dead and he's not coming back… _Gabriella was shaking with grief at this point and hot, fat tears were cascading down her cheeks. Suddenly, she felt something wet drop near her abdomen and such a strong kick that she nearly fell off the chair. She reached for the phone and dialed Sharpay, her emergency midwife. Luckily, the phone was working.

"Hello?" Sharpay said shakily into the phone.

"Sharpay, I'm going into labor," she breathed in between sharp contractions.

"What?!" Sharpay screeched. Her phone had rang in the middle of a meeting for her fashion design company. Star Dazzle. She was whispering as to not disturb the others as much as she had.

Her co-workers were all looking at her with an identical questioning look on their faces.

"Erm," Sharpay said quickly, thinking up a somewhat logical lie, "urgent business call…I'll be back later…" She snatched her coat and left without another word.

"Where are you, Gabi?" Sharpay asked, concernedly, driving on the highway back to New York City.

"I'm…at….home!" Gabriella said painfully.

"Okay, I'll be there in five minutes," Sharpay said.

"Okay," Gabriella whispered.

Gabriella tried to move from her position from her computer chair, but every time she ever so slightly shifted he position, waves of white-hot pain shot up her spinal cord and she resigned to her chair, wincing in pain.

The door flew open and Sharpay ran in, looking frantic and very pale, with bits of her blonde hair stuck to her face. She frantically looked around the entrance hall.

"Gabriella, where are you?" she asked shakily.

"I'm over here," she croaked as another contraction shook her.

Sharpay caught sight of her and turned even paler. She ran over to her side.

"Okay, we're getting you to the nearest hospital," Sharpay said, picking up Gabriella and kicking open the front door with her kitten-heel clad foot.

Gabriella caught sight of the expansive amount of black smoke in the air over downtown, looking like a dark storm cloud. As she looked at it, an extra hard contraction went through her system. She hunched over in pain.

Sharpay put Gabriella awkwardly into the front seat and she took off for the hospital.

"What's that smoke in the sky?" Sharpay asked.

"It's smoke from the World Trade Center," Gabriella said quickly, "It got bombed, haven't you heard?"

Sharpay's eyes widened in shock. "I've been in a meeting all morning, Gabi. And…wait…is Troy…?" she asked.

Gabriella shook her head a fraction of an inch.

"Oh, Gabs…I'm so sorry…" she said.

"It's just that…he'll never know his child," Gabriella started, but was prevented from saying any more because of the hot lump forming in her throat. She tried to swallow it back, but a few hot tears escaped her eyelids.

"Miss, where are you going?" A burly police officer had stopped them about a mile from the hospital.

"Trinity Hospital. My friend's going into labor," Sharpay said.

"There is no commute going in or out of the city, miss," he said.

"What! But-" Sharpay began.

But the officer had already gone back to his post.

"Well?" Gabriella asked.

"We could go back home," Sharpay said.

"There's no time," she said quietly as another pain wave shot though her.

"Then we'll have to go somewhere not in the city," Gabriella said.

"Okay," Sharpay said, grabbing Gabriella's arm and walking a couple of steps.

"We're _walking?_" Gabriella asked desperately.

"There'd no use driving, with all the people getting out of the city." Sharpay said sympathetically.

"Hello, welcome to Boone Hospital, how may I help you?" the receptionist at the nearest hospital asked sweetly.

"My friend's going into labor," Sharpay repeated.

The nurse said something into her walkie-talkie type thing.

"Okay, go to Room 16," she said.

Sharpay half-carried Gabriella to the small room, which, when they opened the door, discovered that it was full of half a dozen nurses who seemed to be awaiting their arrival.

"Mrs. Bolton, we need to see how dilated you are," one of the nurses said. Gabriella didn't ask how they knew her name, as she was too tired to care.

They put Gabriella on a bed and looked in between her legs.

"You're ten centimeters, miss," another nurse said as she slipped on some latex gloves.

_I can't do this, not without Troy…_Gabriella thought frantically. She felt a sharp, brief pain in her lower spine and then a dull numb feeling all over her body.

Before she could prepare for it, the worst contraction of all sent shock waves through her body She let out a yell of pain. Distant yells of "Push! Push!" and the feel of a hand on hers. She looked blankly over and saw Sharpay there, smiling at her reassuring her.

"One last push!" another nurse said.

A loud cry pierced the air. Gabriella looked up weakly and saw her child, the child Troy would never see. The room went in and out of focus and Gabriella sunk into the pillows, the sounds of the bustling doctors growing softer and softer.

Gabriella awoke with a start. She looked around wildly.

"Congrats, Mrs. Bolton, it's a boy!" a nurse said, putting a blue bundle in her arms.

"Have you decided on a name?"

"We decided on Stephen Michael Bolton," Gabriella said weakly, looking down at her first-born son.

"Okay, we'll put that on the certificate," she said and left the room.

"You did great, Gabriella." Sharpay was smiling at her, slightly massaging her hand.

"Why did this all have to happen? The bombing and everything…and now Troy won't even live to see his only son…" Gabriella's voice broke. Sharpay put a comforting arm around her.

"But now you have something to live for," she said.

"Yeah," Gabriella said, looking down at her son, who had Troy's blue-gray eyes, "I do have something to live for."

**Author's Note: **The ending stuck and this will probably be the last chapter, but as I said in the beginning, you can never know with me. Please review!


	3. Chapter 3: I'm Your Angel

**Author's Note: **Many thanks to my writing sister Mairead (Baby-M-xo) who convinced me to continue this with an awesome idea for a chapter 3. Please review!

**Hey There Gabriella**

**Chapter 3: I'm Your Angel**

**By musiclover94 and Baby-M-xo**

"_Why…won't…this…come…off!_" Gabriella asked the air as she scrubbed at a particularly difficult piece of dirt. Stephen was peacefully sleeping a few feet away.

The phone rang, sending Stephen into a fit.

"I've _told _them not to call me!" Gabriella said, annoyed at her lack of tact as she picked up the phone. But Stephen wasn't the only reason she had forbidden her friends to call her: she still had not gotten over Troy's passing. Every night, she felt her bed was too big without Troy there beside her. She had not turned on the news for days for fear she would hear something about the World Trade Center. She had obtained a wave of unopened papers sitting by her doorstep.

"Hello?" she said, weakly, but still sounding angry.

"Is this Mrs. Gabriella Bolton?"

"Yes, it is," she replied, sounding suprised.

"We have discovered that your husband, Troy Bolton, is still alive and is situated at Hope Medical Center," he said.

Gabriella almost dropped the phone. She picked up Stephen and cradled him absentmindedly. _No, this is jus a dream…I'll just wake up and Stephen would be crying or something…_

"W-Wh-What?" she stammered.

"Troy Bolton is alive and at Hope Medical Center," he repeated patiently.

"I-I'll be there in ten minutes," she said and hung up, still in a dreamlike state. She put on her coat and put Stephen's pacifier in his mouth. She walked to her car and attached him to his car seat.

"Hello, are you Gabriella Bolton?" the receptionist said.

"Yes, I am," she said, cradling Stephen, who had calmed down.

"Troy is in room 18," she said sweetly, pointing in the direction of the said room.

"Thank you," she said and walked.

Gabriella opened the door, slightly afraid of what she was about to see. In a bleached-looking hospital bed, laid Troy, who was covered in bruises and had an arm and leg in a sling. His brown hair was slightly matted.

Gabriella was too shocked to move. She stood immobile in the doorway, feeling Stephen's steady breathing by her chest.

"G-Gabi, is that you?" Troy asked feebly.

"Are you all right?" Gabriella asked. Suddenly, all movement returned to her body and she almost tripped as she ran to Troy's side.

"I feel horrible. But what about you?" Troy tried to smile and sit up, but fell back with a grimace of pain, suggesting several broken ribs.

"I-I've been so worried. That day…I was so….I thought you were…" She broke down into uncontrollable sobs. Troy patted her comfortably with his uninjured arm.

"But I'm not Gabi, I'm not! We can just leave this behind us!" Troy said, patting a still-sobbing Gabriella on the small of her back.

"And-and I thought you would never see-see your son," Gabriella continued.

"What?" Troy asked.

"My water broke after the bombing and after that vi-vi-video you sent me. I thought it would be your last words to me…" Gabriella quaked. She handed Stephen to Troy, who took him disbelievingly.

"Oh, Gabi…I'm so sorry…" Troy began.

"What for?"

"Not being there when…when it happened," he said.

"You were buried under tons of rubble, Troy," Gabriella said quietly.

"You and the thought of the baby was what kept me alive," Troy began, "The rest of my office had suffocated from all the ash. I would have been one of them if it hadn't been for you, Gabriella," he said seriously.

"So this isn't just a mirage?" Gabriella asked weakly.

Troy laughed. "No, this is real. I'll prove it to you."

_No mountain's too high for you to climb  
All you have to do is have some climbing faith, oh yeah  
No river's too wide for you to make it across  
All you have to do is believe it when you pray_

Flashback

Gabriella was feinting sleep when she heard her phone go off. She groaned and grabbed it.

"Hello?" she asked quietly.

"Gabriella, I didn't mean any of those thing I said," Troy said quickly, "Chad just knows how to get to me."

"Well, you sounded pretty convincing to me," she said grimly.

"I didn't mean what I said," Troy said, sounding exasperated.

Gabriella said nothing.

"Well, if you still don't believe me, turn around," he said. Gabriella had watched too many horror movies to turn around when someone told her to. But something in Troy's voice told her that he was not going to chop off her head, so she obeyed.

Troy was standing on her balcony, his phone in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. His eyes were on hers, the blue-gray meeting the chocolate-brown.

Gabriella walked to the porch as if floating. She opened the door with a faint _creak._

_I'll be your cloud up in the sky  
I'll be your shoulder when you cry  
I hear your voices when you call me  
I am your angel_

And when all hope is gone, I'm here  
No matter how far you are, I'm near  
It makes no difference who you are  
I am your angel  
I'm your angel

He held up the slightly crumpled piece of paper.

"It's a pairs audition," he said simply, holding it up. Gabriella smiled shyly and moved onto the porch.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Troy asked. Gabriella looked up.

"Yes," she said and gave him a sweet kiss.

End Flashback

Sitting there in the hospital room, Gabriella smiled, remembering the night they fell in love. She began to sing as well...

_And then you will see the morning will come  
And every day will be bright as the sun  
All of your fears cast them on me  
I just want you to see_

Troy chimed in…

_I'll be your cloud up in the sky  
I'll be your shoulder when you cry  
I hear your voices when you call me  
I am your angel_

And when all hope is gone, I'm here  
No matter how far you are, I'm near  
It makes no difference who you are  
I am your angel  
I'm your angel

"Okay, it really is you." Gabriella smiled. Stephen breathed rhythmically beneath them. They looked down at him and smiled at each other.

"When's Stephen's birthday?" Troy asked, still looking at him.

"September 11th, 2001," Gabriella said gravely.

"So-so my son was born on the day I nearly died?" Troy asked, sounding shocked.

"Yes," Gabriella said quietly.

"That settles it," Troy said, straightening up.

"Settles what?"

"We're moving immediately after I get out of the hospital. Somewhere far away from New York City," he said.

"Why?" Gabriella asked incredulously.

Troy gave her an I-can't-believe-you-don't–know-why look. "Because I don't want my son to know that his dad nearly died on his birthday."

"But-but what about your job? The house?" Gabriella asked.

"Those are easily replaceable. My son's well-being isn't," Troy said.

"But where would we live?" Gabriella asked desperately.

Troy pondered this for a moment. "Get out your iPhone," he said.

"Okay, type in 'family-friendly towns'." Troy said.

"Okay," Gabriella said while doing it.

"What comes up?"

"Well, the first one is Albuquerque, New Mexico…" Gabriella said, reading off the small screen.

"What's it like?" Troy asked, looking over Gabriella's shoulder.

Gabriella handed him the phone. He looked down the screen, occasionally nodding his head.

"And there's also Illinois, L.A., Utah, and Florida, but Albuquerque sounds by far the safest." Troy said.

"Okay," Gabriella asked.

A nurse with a heart-shaped face walked timidly into the room.

"Mrs. Bolton, visiting hours are over," she said timidly.

"Okay. Bye, Troy," she said worridly.

"I'll be out in a week, Gabi. See you," he said.

Author's Note: Weak ending, I know, but please review. And please check out Baby-M-xo's stories. They rock my socks! And the song is "I'm Your Angel" by R. Kelly and Celine Dion.


	4. Chapter 4: You Don't Deserve Me

**Author's Note: **I'm back! Please review and check out Baby-M-xo's profile and writing. I really can't thank her enough with the input she's put into this chapter and basically all the story. Thanks M!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything.

**Hey There Gabriella**

**Chapter 5: You Don't Deserve Me**

**By musiclover94 and Baby-M-xo**

The only sounds in the Bolton home were the ripping of the packing tape as Troy sealed up another box in their cardboard cube-filled home.

"Troy, can you pass me another roll of packing tape?' Gabriella said, without looking up from the box she was sealing. She discarded another roll into the already half-full wastepaper basket beside her.

Troy who had begun to doze off above his almost-filled box. His head snapped up abruptly. "Huh? Oh….yeah…here." He handed her a roll of tape, gleaming in the morning sun shining in though the windows. They worked in silence for several more moments, the minutes passing into hours, until…

"Done!" Gabriella said happily, wiping sweat from her brow and putting down the last box. It fell with a dull clunking, as if it were filled with pillows.

"So we're going to put all this in the cars?" Troy asked, gesturing to the abundant boxes surrounding them.

"Yeah," she said, huffing slightly under the weight of a box full of wedding china.

"I'll carry that, Gabi," Troy said, rushing to get the box from her, but she maneuvered it away from him with a sort of teasing smile on her face.

"Contrary to popular belief, my dear," she said, trying to sound official and proper, but still smiling giddily, "Girls _are _stronger than they appear."

Troy, who knew he should be feeling like laughing too, instead felt a strong surge of annoyance. He faked a laugh, which sounded overly hearty, nothing like his own, but Gabriella didn't seem to notice. "No, I'll take it." He said it with a tone of finality, so Gabriella let him. He heaved it into the back of the SUV and went for another one, clearly indicating to his wife that she should not do any work. She looked a little affronted, but obeyed and went to Stephen's crib, which was situated in eyes view of the young couple, but still far enough away to not be in danger of any flying packing equipment. She bent over in front of his crib and hoisted him up and cradled him, swaying slightly.

With a _boom_ an hour later, the packing was done. Troy closed the trunk door on the car. He had amazingly fit all their rubbish in one car. "Ready to go?" he asked, getting his keys out of his pocket.

Gabriella took one last, long look at the house, now looking slightly stiff with no steam pouring out of the chimney. "I just can't believe we are leaving this place, forever. And we didn't even tell anyone!" she said, looking first at the house, than at him.

"Gabriella, like I said before, do you really want to live in the place where your son was born in the midst of a tragedy, the place where your husband almost _died_?!" Troy asked seriously, looking into her chocolate brown orbs.

"I guess you're right," she said, stealing one last look at the house and then turning on her heel, not to go to the car, but to again face him.

"Troy, you've changed," she stated simply.

"How so?" he asked, though he knew the answer. He had known the answer ever since his first night out of the World Trade Center rubble.

"Well, first off, you have huge raccoon eye bags under your eyes, and you've been really reclusive and quick-tempered, and you've been nodding off throughout the day," she said, looking at him unblinkingly.

"Brie, that's just from lack of sleep, it happens to everyone," he said, starting to get that hot wave of annoyance…

Gabriella said nothing, but gave Troy a warning look. "So which car is Stephen going in?" she asked, pushing him farther up her shoulder, trying to change the topic.

"I'll take him," he said tiredly, holding out his arms.

Gabriella once again looked apprehensive. She pulled back and said, "No, you're really tired…I'll take him." She turned around and started to open the car door. A hand met her shoulder and forcefully turned her around. "I'll take him," he said.

"No, you don't need your son on your mind along with everything that's happened…" she said, but immediately knew she had said the wrong thing.

"Be _bothered _by my _son!? _The son I almost didn't get to see!" Troy said, the hot anger getting stronger by the second…

"Troy, I-I didn't mean it li-like that…" Gabriella said, sounding very small and scared, backing away and clutching Stephen tighter.

The strongest surge of white-hot burning anger swept over Troy, controlling him.

He raised a hand, a hand controlled by the burning anger pulsing inside him. The hand connected with Gabriella's check, forcing her head sideways. When she was once again facing him, she looked as pale as a ghost. She walked several paces backwards, still looking at him.

Troy looked from his wife to his hand, and felt a deep disgust with himself. His mind working wildly, he turned around and headed for his car.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella asked, her voice higher than usual.

"Going away," he said simply, putting the key in the ignition.

"_What!? _But you can't just _leave! _We need you!" she pleaded, trying to hold the car back with her hand.

"You'll be a lot safer without me."

"What?" she asked.

"I'm a danger to you and Stephen," he said, refusing to look at Gabriella, especially at the place where he had struck her.

"You're not a danger to us!" she said incredulously.

"I just hit you, Gabriella. I don't deserve to be with you anymore," he said.

"But it was one time!" She was panicking now.

"One time too many. Tell Stephen, when he wakes up, that his dad loves him, but can't be with him," he said thickly, holding back tears.

"Bu-!" Gabriella began, knowing what was going to happen a second before it did.

"Goodbye, my angel. I love you, but you deserve someone better," he said, starting to back out of the driveway.

"But you do des-!" she started, bur with a screech of tires, he was gone.

**Author's Note: **Please check out Baby-M-xo's profile and stories and _PLEASE REVIEW!_ You're few seconds of typing gives me a lot of happiness. Thanks. And if anyone has any ideas for my other stories that I have absolutely no ideas for, We're Just Two Footprints in the Sand and Everyone Has a Problem, please send them to me in a e-mail (), a PM, or a review. Thanks. I will credit you fully!


	5. Chapter 5: Numb

**Author's Note: **Thanks to Baby-M-xo, who gave me a lot of help with this chapter. Please review!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything.

**Hey There Gabriella**

**Chapter 6: Numb**

**By musiclover94 and Baby-M-xo**

_Last Chapter…_

"One time too many. Tell Stephen, when he wakes up, that his dad loves him, but can't be with him," he said thickly, holding back tears.

"Bu-!" Gabriella began, knowing what was going to happen a second before it did.

"Goodbye, my angel. I love you, but you deserve someone better," he said, starting to back out of the driveway.

"But you do des-!" she started, bur with a screech of tires, he was gone.

Troy looked around the dank and small motel room. It had an unreasonably unsanitary bathroom and one small bed that felt like a cracker. H didn't feel like he deserved it, any of it. He sprang up and started to pace the room. Gabriella did deserve someone better…someone untainted by personal tragedies…Gabriella was far better off without him, both her and Stephen would be safer…Stephen…the song who had almost never seen him…and he was abandoning him…Troy shook his head, clearing his brain of the untrue thoughts…his son shouldn't have to grow up in a home with half their parentage going abusive some of the time…it was for the best…

Troy picked up a random vase lying around the room and chucked it at the murky wall. I connected with a loud _crash _and fell to the floor. Even though it was an inanimate object, he hoped the pottery felt the head-splitting agony he felt. The room was going blurry…

He was once again stuck in the charred rubble, gasping for air, bodies of his co-workers all around him…he saw a bright light shining directly at him…someone was puling him out of the rubble…he saw blue sky…

Troy shook his head again. He can't think of that now, not after what it did to his family…

He went back to pacing the room, thinking about what to do. He mind strayed to his wedding day some years ago, when everything was so simple…he hated himself slightly for thinking about this, when he should be getting rid of Gabriella forever, for her own good…he thought of Stephen, growing older without a father figure, graduating from high school and college, getting married, he himself being a grandfather…he saw Gabriella standing across from a strange, unfamiliar man, a preacher in the middle. She looked at the man with a fake happiness, but she looked like she was truly sad, like she was missing something…He couldn't take it anymore. He sank into the bad, his head in his hands, letting the tears fall into his palms. Now he knew. Knew that by leaving, he was hurting Gabriella more than an physical wound, realized that if he left, he would never see his son grow up…It was all very clear what he must do: get back home immediately. But an enormous wave of real understanding swept over him. He could not return, never again could he see Gabriella. He would have to be constantly running away from Albuquerque, from the family he had broken.

He looked around for something to take his harsh realization out on. There were no more vases, but on the rickety bedside table was a full uncorked bottle of vodka. He had no idea why a hotel could have a bottle of hard alcohol in their rooms, but not have clean restrooms, but he didn't worry about that now. In one movement, he swiped the bottle and took a long swig from it. Instantly, the drink numbed all his pain and anguish. His senses were numbed further as he drank more and more. In a couple minutes, the whole, full-sized bottle was empty. He put it down shakily and rose, swaying where he stood. He saw his destination very clearly; very far away to ensure that if somehow Gabriella found out where he was, she would never find him. It greatly saddened him even in his drunken state. He stumbled to the creaking door and pulled it open, tripping into the dank hallway, lit only by an incandescent light bulb hanging on a thin metal wire.

The dark entrance room came in and out of focus as he made his way to the front door. No workers were by the desk, as it was probably past midnight. He opened his car door and fell inside, still not seeing things 100 clearly.

He was several miles from the motel when the alcohol really started to kick in. He was swerving from the right lane to the left lane, but there were no cars too stop him. He made a grand veer to the right. He was careening to the side the road, leaving skid marks on the new road. He was moving faster, faster to the edge of the road, barely knowing what he was doing. At the very edge of the road, his car gave a sputter and died. Died an inch away from tumbling over a 1,500 foot jagged cliff.

**Author's Note: **Eh, didn't like this one either, but you are the judges! The next chapters should be better. Please review. And please don't just say 'I loved it'. That really doesn't help me at all. So, at the very least, tell me _why _you liked it. Thanks! And please check out Baby-M-xo's stories.

**What time is it? Summertime!: **I'm going to start writing a new summer love story and I need your help. What's a good way for two summer loves to meet? Please send me a PM or a review if you have any ideas.


	6. Chapter 6: Crystal Clear

**Author's Note: **Please review and check out Baby-M-xo's stories. She helped me a lot with this chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything.

**Hey There Gabriella**

**Chapter 7: Crystal Clear**

**By musiclover94 and Baby-M-xo**

_Last Chapter…_

He was moving faster, faster to the edge of the road, barely knowing what he was doing. At the very edge of the road, his car gave a sputter and died. Died an inch away from tumbling over a 1,500 foot jagged cliff.

He looked over the dented car door into the cliff, which had many sharp edges sticking out of the sides. Even though his mind still felt like it was full of cotton, what he knows he must do was crystal clear. He slowly opened the side door of the car and stumbled out. He looked hazily at his surroundings. A seemingly endless road lay before him, completely empty except for some birds overhead. He grabbed his wallet, the only possession he had brought with him and stood where he was, thinking. New York City was west of New Mexico. He turned around and saw a patch of bright green moss growing against a tree trunk by the cliff's edge, so New York was distantly to the right of the moss. In other words, NYC was west of the moss because moss always grew north. They _are _right, being a past Boy Scout _does _help in the long run.

But was that really the best option? He, Troy, had hit his wife and basically screwed his whole life up. He stopped a little bit away from the cliff, looking at the ground hard. Maybe it was better if he just jumped off the cliff's jagged and sudden edge, and Troy Bolton would cease to exist. He spun around in the opposite direction and walked slowly to the rocky cliff, knowing what was to happen. He picked up one foot and let it hover over the huge depth of the cliff. He stayed like that for a long time; the only sounds were the distant howling of the wind and the cawing of the birds over his head, as if foreseeing what was to come of him.

But, just before he was going to lean over and let him fall over into the cliff, he stopped. What would this action of his solve? If Gabriella heard about this, she wouldn't be able to move on to new things, and that was what he wanted for his wife, a new beginning.

_Flashback_

"That settles it," Troy said, straightening up.

"Settles what?"

"We're moving immediately after I get out of the hospital. Somewhere far away from New York City," he said.

"Why?" Gabriella asked incredulously.

Troy gave her an _I-can't-believe-you-don't–know-why_ look. "Because I don't want my son to know that his dad nearly died on his birthday."

_End Flashback_

This brought back memories of his son, who, if he had followed though with the plan he had just aborted, would have almost no memories of his father. He could not let that happen. He once again turned around. He was putting one foot in front of the other, all that he knew was the road beneath his feet, the sky above him, and his destination; New York City, not immediately to Gabriella, but to Chad's. He couldn't face her after what had happened. **(A/N: He thinks they still live in New York City because he's really drunk. Just wanted to make that clear.)**

Gabriella Bolton was in a state of extreme distress and grief. Troy had been gone for days with no word from him, or from anyone connected with him. He could be dead by now and no one would know. Her ear was attached to the phone, in which she was engaged in a seven-way conversation with Ryan, Sharpay, Chad, Taylor, Zeke, Kelsi, and Jason.

"So you're _sure _you haven't seen Troy or heard from him?" she asked, tears falling from her chocolate brown eyes.

"We haven't heard anything, Gabi," Taylor said carefully. The others repeated her words. Gabriella silently cried harder, the tears dripping fast into her lap. They all hung up in a chorus of _clicks._

Gabriella put down the wireless phone and sobbed for what seemed like hours into her hands, but was probably only for a few minutes. She heard a cry and listed her head. Stephen was a few feet away. She pulled herself together and stood up, went to his crib, and rocked him. She made the mistake of looking down at her son's face, into his eyes, which were identical to her husband's. She broke down, sobbing herself until she was sure there were no tears left in her body.

The phone rang. Gabriella picked it up, sniffing.

"Hello?" she said groggily.

"Is this Mrs. Gabriella Bolton?" a rough man's voice said. The name 'Bolton' shot through her like a bullet.

"Yes," she said.

"We have found your husband's ca-" he said.

"You have?" she asked, not daring to believe it.

"We found his car, miss. But not Troy Bolton."

"Wh-what?"

"We are sorry to inform you that Troy Bolton is missing and presumed dead."

**Author's Note: **Please review and check out Baby-M-xo's writing, it's really good! And I'm sorry that the Chapter 6 of this story was put into the present chapter of Everyone Has a Problem. I've fixed it.


	7. Chapter 7: Depression

**Author's Note: **Well, here's the next chapter. And I'm sorry I confuse this story with Everyone Has a Problem when I'm posting new chapters of EHAP. Please review and check out Baby-M-xo's profile. Thanks!

**Hey There Gabriella**

**Chapter 8: Depression**

**By musiclover94 and Baby-M-xo**

_Last Chapter…_

"We found his car, miss. But not Troy Bolton."

"Wh-what?"

"We are sorry to inform you that Troy Bolton is missing and presumed dead."

--

The phone fell out of Gabriella's shaking hand onto the carpeted floor with a muffled _thud. _She fell down onto the couch, holding tight to Stephen, who was the only somewhat thing left of Troy, however distant.

She heard the words, "Ms. Bolton? Are you there?"

She reluctantly picked up the phone, still holding her child.

"I'm here," she said, holding back tears.

"You can come over to the spot of where his car is, for further details," he said.

"Okay. I'll be there soon," she said and hung up.

She pulled her sedan to the side of the ever-empty road and opened the door, cradling Stephen. She walked over to the police, who looked very grave. Some were in a roped-off part. In the very center was Troy's car. Gabriella caught sight of what was a foot behind it. Troy had to be dead, or beyond medical repair, if he toppled down that cliff. She covered her mouth with her available hand and sobbed, sobbed for everything that was going wrong in her life.

Troy was still walking, one foot in front of the other, a few miles from, to him, unknowingly his wife stood crying over his apparent deadness. He was a few miles from the New Mexico border, still totally wasted. He had nearly walked in front of moving cars three times. The physical path in front of him was extremely fuzzy, but the path to Chad, and eventually Gabriella and Stephen, the path to get his life back on track.

Gabriella was back home, still sobbing, having barely made it home, feeling no real reason to be on Earth anymore. She looked around her house. It, like her, was in a state of despair. There were still boxes unopened on the dirty carpet. She looked at her red-faced and puffy reflection in the cracked mirror. She had massive bags under her eyes and her once young eyes had a weathered look to them, like she was twenty years older than she was. Her hair was bedraggled, dry, and lank.

Then she looked beyond physical appearance, into her feelings. She knew she should be mad beyond belief at her husband for hitting her, but she wasn't, just overcome with grief and guilt. If she had restrained Troy from running away, he wouldn't be dead right now. At this thought, she broke down again, causing Stephen to cry.

She cradled him, still sobbing. She needed help with Stephen, with everything. Her life was quickly spiraling down a tube that led to a never- ending pit of depression.

**Author's Note: **I'm really beginning to hate the way I write. Like, some days it's good, and other days, it sucks. Most of the time, it's the latter. Please review.


	8. Chapter 8: What Was the Point?

**Author's Note: **Please review and check out Baby-M-xo, she helped me a lot with this chapter and the story as a whole.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything.

**Hey There Gabriella**

**Chapter 9: What Was the Point?**

**By musiclover94 and Baby-M-xo**

_Last Chapter…_

If she had restrained Troy from running away, he wouldn't be dead right now. At this thought, she broke down again, causing Stephen to cry. She cradled him, still sobbing. She needed help with Stephen, with everything. Her life was quickly spiraling down a tube that led to a never- ending pit of depression.

--

Gabriella was cleaning the house fruitlessly, not being able to concentrate, when her doorbell rang. The whole house echoed with the sound, hollow-like, similar to her heart. She stumbled to the door and pulled it open. Sharpay was standing there. When the blonde saw her, she gave her a hug. Gabriella hugged her back resignedly.

"How are you doing?" Sharpay asked, sounding genuinely concerned for her friend.

"Horrible," she said truthfully, "Why are you here?" she asked, not rudely.

"I figured that you would need some help, with Tr…" she said, catching herself just in time. Gabriella ducked her head, covering her face. Just when she thought she had no more tears left…

Sharpay put a comforting arm around Gabriella. "It's ok, Gabi…the police always assume the worst when things like this happen…"

Gabriella just broke down into another tidal wave of sobs.

"Do you need help?" she asked kindly.

Gabriella nodded.

"With what?"

Gabriella paused a second, sniffling. "Stephen, I guess."

Sharpay walked a few steps until she was at her best friend's son's crib. She picked him up and started to sway back and forth.

"Gabi, I think you need to relax," she said seriously.

"I guess you're right," Gabriella said, sighing sadly. She trudged upstairs and flopped down on her bed. She picked up her phone from the oak bedside table and flipped it open: no mew messages. She went to her Contacts list and selected the number she had dialed so many times. She held the receiver to her ear and waited for the much sought-after voice of her husband. And once again, the electronic voice said that the number was out of range. She dropped her mobile on the comforter with a dull _thump_. Salty tears fell from her brown eyes onto her jeans. She didn't bother to wipe them away. What was the point?

Troy looked up at the cloudy sky. He was in Missouri. He looked back at the train he had just gotten off from Denver. He still had a ways to go until he was at Chad's, but he needed to take his time, sort things out, like what to say to Gabriella. He cut from the train station, through masses of people on their way to wherever they were going.

His feet landed on soft dirt in the forest preserve across from the station. He couldn't see the sky through the thick branches overhead. A few birds flew from one tree to the other, chirping merrily.

He set off in the general direction of New York City. The forest was awfully dark and he tripped over an exposed tree root more than once. A deer paused to look at him, her eyes almost identical to Gabriella's. He broke gaze with it grudgingly. Putting one foot in front of the other, he continued.

"Hello?" Chad said into the phone.

"Have you seen Troy? Hear from him?" Gabriella demanded shakily, holding back tears again.

Chad sighed, wanting to tell his 'little sister' the exact opposite. "I haven't heard anything, Brie. Didn't the police say he's de…?"

Gabriella started to sob again. Everyone was being so insensitive!

"Oh my god, Gabs! I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it…"

Gabriella sniffed. She couldn't keep on sobbing at every mention of…him. "It's ok. I have to go," she lied.

"Ok. See you later," he said and hung up.

Gabriella dropped her cell on the bed and leaned back, a never-ending supply of tears falling onto her cheeks.

**Author's Note: **Horrible ending, I know. But please, please, please review!


	9. Chapter 9: They Found Him

**Author's Note:** Please review!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything.

**Hey There Gabriella**

**Chapter 10: They Found Him**

**By musiclover94 and Baby-M-xo**

_Last Chapter…_

Gabriella sniffed. She couldn't keep on sobbing at every mention of…him. "It's ok. I have to go," she lied.

"Ok. See you later," he said and hung up.

Gabriella dropped her cell on the bed and leaned back, a never-ending supply of tears falling onto her cheeks.

--

Troy looked skyward once again. It simply amazed him, that even though he had traveled thousands of miles from New Mexico to here, smack dab in the middle of Pennsylvania, they were all under the same sky. He was trudging through a semi-busy town, among civilians who were clean-cut and looking straight forward, obviously on their way to work. They hadn't even noticed Troy's somewhat shabby appearance, being on the trail so long. Or if they did, they didn't comment.

His thoughts kept flickering back to Stephen and Gabriella, the latter probably downright panicking. He felt a surge of guilt at this, knowing that he was putting his wife through more agony than any physical blow. But he needed to visit the one person who wouldn't freak out at the sight of him after being gone for so long, who would sit down and listen to what he had to say, to get his mind straight before confronting Gabriella.

Looking through a shop window in passing, he saw the date, for the first time in nearly two weeks: November 23rd. He stopped dead in his tracks, slightly gaping at the small electronic sign inside the shop, stuck to the window. People shuffled past, some giving him weird looks, others just grateful that he was no longer in their path. He didn't even notice them, though.

Because he remembered that, on this day, a few years ago, was the happiest day of his life.

Gabriella slowly opened her eyes, her bleary eyes hurting against the pure whiteness of the walls and the strong beams of light coming in through the windows. She directed her eyes to her digital alarm clock, causing her to momentarily close her eyes from the piercing red.

It was 6 in the morning. And it was November 23rd.

he had to shake her head, making sure it wasn't a mistake that it was her and Troy's 5th wedding anniversary. The red '23' confirmed it. She closed her eyes, but not from the brightness of the outside world. A single tear, like the one near the end of Taylor Swift's 'Teardrops on my Guitar' music video. It slowly fell, not onto a guitar, but onto the crisp white bed sheet beneath her. She stayed there for what seemed like hours, letting the river of silent tears fall, leaving a small puddle on her pillow. The phone rang, but she didn't answer it.

She heard Sharpay's voice from the room next door. She had stayed overnight, helping comfort Gabriella and helping with Stephen and the housework.

"Gabriella? Can you come over here for a second?" She sounded shaky and her voice was higher then usual.

Gabriella rolled out of bed and stumbled to the living room, where Sharpay's strange voice had come from. She was mentally preparing a speech about how she was fine, that the constant tears were from overwork and things like that…

"What?" she asked groggily, looking at the blonde, who looked paler, despite her California-made tan. The phone was on the table, though there was still someone on the other line.

"They…they found Troy, Gabi."

**Author's Note:** Haha, another cliffy! I'm being _so _mean today! :D Please review and heck out Baby-M-xo. Review! And ideas are always appreciated


	10. Chapter 10: Escape

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone! I've been away at camp for a week, but I'm back in business. Please enjoy and review.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**Hey There Gabriella**

**Chapter 11: Escape**

**By musiclover94**

_Last Chapter…_

"What?" she asked groggily, looking at the blonde, who looked paler, despite her California-made tan. The phone was on the table, though there was still someone on the other line.

"They…they found Troy, Gabi."

--

At that moment, Gabriella was grateful for the sofa located right by where she was standing. She stumbled to the cushions and sank into the couch, shaking like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water on her frazzled head.

"W-what?" she stammered, looking from the phone to Sharpay, who looked worried.

"They found him somewhere near the border of Pennsylvania, and they want you to come over there, if you want to." That last part was totally unnecessary, though. Gabriella got up, almost fell over on the spot before Sharpay caught her. Gabriella still managed to say, "I'm going."

"Not without me, you aren't!" Sharpay said, grabbing her coat while still holding up her friend.

"Why can't I go alone?" Gabriella asked, a trace of whining in her sleep-deprived voice.

"Friends don't let friends drive when they're half-asleep," Sharpay said seriously.

"Fine. Let's just get there quickly. I'll get Stephen and we'll hit the road." Gabriella said, realizing how pointless their mock argument was.

"So I take a turn on Maple Drive? Okay, thanks. Goodbye." Sharpay hung up her cell phone conversation with the police chief and was combing her way through the semi-crowded streets to wherever they were keeping Troy. Gabriella was filled with a mixed feeling of panic and relief that Troy wasn't gone from the world forever.

Sharpay slid into an empty parking spot and butterflies churned wildly in Gabriella's stomach. She pulled open the car door and walked to the police department front door and pulled it open, Sharpay close behind her.

Inside were two officers on either side of Troy, holding him in two iron grips. It looked like Troy was trying to escape and Gabriella could hear the words, "You don't understand," and "I don't want to see her now, it's not the right time," being said by her husband about her.

He must have heard the door close and his head slowly turned toward a stunned Gabriella and Sharpay. Stephen just looked like an infant.

In one motion, Troy broke free of the police and bolted **(no pun intended) **out of the unlocked back door. The two officers were behind him in a flash, and soon to room had only the threesome in it. It had all happened in less than thirty seconds. Gabriella felt a tear fall down her cheek, as her true love fell out of her grasp once again.

**Author's Note:** Okay, let me make this quite clear: I don't want reviews that just say 'Oh, I loved it.' Be brutally honest in your reviews and please try to help with giving me ideas if you have them. Because I didn't like this chapter at all. Please reviews and **I NEED IDEAS!**


	11. Chapter 11: Four Years Later

**Author's Note:** The last chapter! Please review. Thanks to Baby-M-xo for the first idea and ZanessaLover2008 for the second.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**Hey There Gabriella**

**Chapter 12: Four Years Later**

**By musiclover94, ZanessaLovers2008, and Baby-M-xo**

_Last Chapter..._

In one motion, Troy broke free of the police and bolted **(no pun intended) **out of the unlocked back door. The two officers were behind him in a flash, and soon to room had only the threesome in it. It had all happened in less than thirty seconds. Gabriella felt a tear fall down her cheek, as her true love fell out of her grasp once again.

--

Four Years Later…

Chad was on the couch, reading the Sports section of the Albuquerque Times, which was highlighting the disappointing loss of the U of A Redhawks yet again. He was just about to chuck the paper in the bin in defeat when the doorbell rang, chiming through the empty house. Taylor was out shopping with Kelsi and wouldn't be back for a while.

He didn't bother looking through the window to see who the guest was. Most likely, it was a Girl Scout selling cookies. But when he opened the door, he was not met with a ten-year-old, braided, smiling, green-clad Scout.

Instead, he was met with a hobo.

Well, that's how it looked to him. He had a straggly mess of brown hair halfway to his elbow, a long-ish scraggly beard, and was wearing some sort of old weathered suit. That's where the hobo thing ended for Chad. Hobos don't commonly wear suits.

Something about his eyes made him from calling the cops. They were clear, aqua blue, the same color as the water at Lava Springs, where they had all worked the summer before senior year.

"Troy?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

"It's me," he replied, not cracking a signature smile. Chad highly doubted he had cracked a smile in years.

"Where have you been, man?" he said, sounding angry.

"After I escaped from the police when they found me, I just went through woods until I got here, to New York."

"It took you _four years?_" he asked incredulously.

"I had to stay out of the police's eye," he said.

Chad looked disbelieving, but said nothing.

"How's Gabriella?" he asked, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

Chad paused for a moment, looking uncomfortable. "I know you needed to clear your head after 9/11, dude, but four years is a long time to wait for someone."

Troy's expression changed to one of apprehension. "What do you mean?"

Chad sighed and said slowly, "After you escaped, Gabriella convinced herself to move on with life and she remarried, about one and a half years after you headed for the hills."

Troy didn't say anything. He just looked shell-shocked. He finally said in a rush, "Can I…see her?"

"I suppose. But, dude," he looked his worse-for-wear appearance, "you'll have to clean up first."

While Troy was out of the room, Chad scooped up the phone and pressed the speed dial 5. She picked up after two rings.

"Hello?" she asked wearily.

"Hey, Gabriella," Chad said, "can you meet me at Starbucks in an hour. It's pretty important."

"Sure, no problem. I'll bring the whole family. Goodness knows we haven't had a good outing in ages." There was a laughing tone in her voice and Chad hated himself for having to break the news to her. But she had to know. He hadn't quite forgotten the weeks after he left yet again, when Gabriella had called him at all hours of the night, sobbing. He hadn't minded.

"Okay, see you then." He hung up.

"It smells like Boston in here, Mom," four-year-old Stephen said to his mother, wrinkling his nose.

"You've never been to Boston, dear. How would you know what it smells like?" Gabriella smiled.

"Doesn't Boston have good coffee, though? Dad's always drinking it."

Gabriella looked scornfully at her husband, Michael.

"You haven't been hooking the little ones on caffeine, right honey?" She ruined the scolding effect with a smile.

Michael bent down and gave her a peck on the nose, causing Gabriella to shiver in delight. "I haven't opened the door to caffeine to the young ones, Gabi. No need to fret."

Gabriella nodded, still over-the-moon by his kiss.

The familiar door jingle sounded through the almost-empty café and Gabriella caught sight of Chad's hair almost at once. She waved him over, Michael following suit.

"Hey, Gabriella, Michael," Chad said, a forced smile on his face. Gabriella noticed and gave him an odd look.

"So what did you want to say?" Gabriella asked somewhat warily.

"Michael, could I talk to Gabriella alone?" he asked. Michael nodded, looking confused along with the twins, Fred and Annalisa.

Chad motioned for Gabriella to follow him outside. She obliged, still looking confused.

"Where are we going?" Gabriella asked, looking at her surroundings warily. They had to be at least two and a half blocks from Starbucks by now.

"You'll see," he said.

After a few more minutes, Chad finally stopped so abruptly that Gabriella bumped into him.

"We're here," he said simply. Their destination was what appeared to be an old cave in a thin forest by the side of the road. Gabriella looked at Chad wordlessly for an explanation.

"Gabriella?" Chad said seriously.

"Yeah?"

"You know four years ago, when Troy escaped?"

Gabriella looked down at the dirt beneath them, not seeing it. She, too, had not forgotten the days that turned into weeks after the incident that she had cried herself to sleep. She nodded.

"Well…" he began, not knowing how to break it to her. She looked up at him, again looking apprehensive.

'What, Chad?"

Chad sighed and said, with eyes closed, "You'll see."

He turned toward the cave-like thing before them and walked inside it. Gabriella stood with her arms folded across from her, nervously awaiting whatever Chad had in store for her.

She heard footsteps coming from the cave. But it was more than just Chad's. She looked up and saw something that made her almost faint, but a nearby sturdy tree kept her vertical.

"T-Troy?" she stammered, still gripping the tree as if it were the one thing keeping her alive. He looked almost the same as he did all those years back, with the exception that he was much skinnier and more weather-beaten.

"Gabriella?" He took a tentative step forward.

"What are you do-?"

"Let me explain." And he did. He told her the full story, from the beginning, when he thought himself a danger to her and Stephen, to the very end, with the reason why he had escaped that day.

"So you're saying that you were on the run for four years because you needed to clear your head?"

When she spoke it, it sounded trivial, be he followed through. "Basically."

Gabriella looked for several moments at the ground, then took a breath and said in a rush, "Troy, I can't be with you."

"Why not?" he prompted.

"Because…" she took another breath, "because I remarried."

There was an awkward pause for a moment before Troy said, to Gabriella's complete surprise, "That's understandable."

"So we'll still be friends?" Gabriella asked tentatively.

"Always." He grinned, and the old Troy shone through. Gabriella smiled back. Everything was alright again.

**Author's Note:** Corny ending, I know. But I hope you enjoyed it and PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks to everyone who put this on story alert or favorite story and everyone who reviewed. Hey There Gabriella had become my most popular story, hit-wise and review wise! Thank you all so much! Review!


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